GALBY AND FRISBY
Galby and Frisby are two separate civil parishes
lying seven miles east-south-east of Leicester. Frisby
(also known as Frisby by Galby) was formerly a
chapelry in the ancient parish of Galby; it had a
separate village, and, in the Middle Ages, its own
chapel. The total area of the ancient parish, 1,903
a., is divided almost exactly into halves, 960 a. in
Galby civil parish and 963 a. in Frisby. Part of the
north-east boundary, between Galby civil parish and
Houghton on the Hill, follows the River Sence; the
boundary on the north, between Frisby civil parish
and Billesdon, is marked partly by the Billesdon
brook; and for a short way the eastern boundary
follows the road from Market Harborough to Melton
Mowbray. The soil is chiefly clay and loam, and the
land largely used for pasture. The south-eastern part
of the parish comprises the head of a valley in which
a small stream flows south-westwards to join the
River Sence at Great Glen. On the north-west side
of the valley the ground rises to 600 ft. and falls
again towards the valley of the Sence. Near the centre
of the parish and at its highest point the gated road
from Galby to Billesdon is crossed at right angles by
a track, now largely disused, leading from Houghton
on the Hill in the north-west towards the Market
Harborough to Melton Mowbray road.
Frisby village, the extent of which can be traced
by mounds and depressions in the fields, lay mostly
south-east of this road junction. (fn. 1) The only remaining
buildings are now three cottages and Frisby House
Farm. The brick farm-house dates from the earlier
19th century but on the opposite side of the lane the
lower part of an ironstone house is incorporated in
the outbuildings. This retains several stone-mullioned windows and is probably of 16th-century
origin. (fn. 2) In the valley to the south-east lies the former
Frisby Lodge Farm. The house, dating from c. 1800,
has been empty and derelict since the Second World
War. The track leading past it has gone out of use.
In 1932 two cottages were built on the main road
and one of these is now occupied as the farm-house. (fn. 3)
The only other house in the parish is a farm-house,
in the extreme north, approached from the Leicester-
Uppingham road.
The village of Galby (or Gaulby) (fn. 4) stands on high
ground on the south-west side of the ancient parish.
On a stream running north of the village there is a
succession of three fish-ponds, with the remains of
two others. In Bath Spinney to the south of the village there is a large spring which, by means of a
water-ram, supplies water to part of Galby and
King's Norton. (fn. 5)
The village is small, consisting mainly of four
farms and a few cottages. (fn. 6) They are built round a
triangle of land bounded on its north side by the
road from Stretton and King's Norton. East of the
village a lane branches northwards to Houghton on
the Hill. The churchyard occupies the northern part
of the triangle and at its opposite corner stands the
former village school, closed in 1949 and standing
derelict in 1958. From this point a road leads southeastwards to Illston. The buildings are almost entirely of red brick and most of them date from the
19th and 20th centuries. Details of the living accommodation provided by earlier houses in Galby have
been compiled from inventories dating from between
1531 and 1675. (fn. 7) The only house which survives in
part from this period appears to be the farm-house
standing east of the church, now known as The
Limes. This was originally a T-shaped building of
the late 16th or early 17th century. The lower walls
are of ironstone and it is probable that the upper
story was originally timber-framed. A low ceiling
beam from the early house is in position near the
junction between the front range and the projecting
back wing. Nearby are two panelled doors and a
panelled partition of c. 1600. Early roof timbers have
been re-used in an added scullery at the north end
of the front range. The back wing has been rebuilt in
18th-century brickwork and the front range has been
remodelled, raised in brick, and re-roofed. Some of
these alterations may have been carried out in 1720,
a date which is scratched on the jamb of the present
front doorway.
On the north side of the road to Billesdon and
immediately opposite the church stands the former
Rectory, now known as Greyladies. The medieval
parsonage is known to have occupied a site on the
south side of the road. (fn. 8) Greyladies is an irregularlyshaped house of grey-washed brick, the central block
representing a compact early-18th-century house with
a symmetrical front. The west wing, which has large
angle buttresses, dates from c. 1830 (fn. 9) when the whole
house was remodelled in the Tudor style and given
prominent diagonally-set chimneys. The central
block contains early-18th-century panelling, apparently in situ. Panelling of the previous century, which
has been reset, may have belonged to an earlier house
on the site or have been brought from elsewhere. The
present Georgian front doorway is a modern insertion. (fn. 10) The Rectory now occupied by the incumbent
of the combined living of Galby with King's Norton
was built on the road to King's Norton in 1932. (fn. 11)
The Manor House, now a farm-house occupied
by two families, stands south-west of the church. It
was originally a large mid-18th-century brick house
with a good staircase and several panelled rooms of
the period. A large private residence at the southwest corner of the village was designed in 1938 by
Raymond McGrath. (fn. 12) It has a single-pitch roof and
an upper story faced with elm boarding. The bricks
of the lower story are said to have come from the
demolished mansion of Beaudesert (Staffs.). (fn. 13) Two
pairs of Council houses, one of Swedish timber,
were built in the village between 1947 and 1950. (fn. 14)
MANOR.
In 1086 the greater part of Galby was held
from Hugh de Grentesmesnil by the son of Robert
Burdet. (fn. 15) This estate was assessed as 13¼ carucates
and almost certainly included most of Frisby township. (fn. 16) The overlordship descended to the earls of
Leicester, (fn. 17) later becoming part of the honor of Winchester. After the death of Roger de Quency, Earl of
Winchester, in 1264, Galby fell to the share of his
daughter Elizabeth, who married Alexander Comyn,
Earl of Buchan. (fn. 18) In 1308 it passed to the Beaumonts,
and in 1413 Henry Beaumont, Lord Beaumont, died
seised of one knight's fee in Galby and Frisby held
of him by John Burdet. (fn. 19)
In the 13th century Galby was held of the Burdets
by members of the Marmion family. In 1217 William
Marmion gave Galby to Ralph Ridel, apparently on
Ralph's marriage to William's daughter, (fn. 20) for in 1279
Maud, widow of Ralph Ridel, was suing Mauncer,
son of William Marmion, for dower in Galby. (fn. 21) In
that year Mauncer Marmion held 4½ carucates in
Galby of Robert Burdet, who held of the honor of
Winchester, as ½ knight's fee. (fn. 22) In 1291 it was said,
in a dispute over the wardship of Mauncer's son
William, that Mauncer had held 13 virgates in Galby
of Oliver Daubeney; (fn. 23) but there is no other reference
to this overlordship and in the 14th century the Marmions continued to hold the manor of GALBY of
the Burdets. (fn. 24) In 1520 William Marmion died, and
his daughter Katherine married John Hazlewood of
Maidwell (Northants.) (fn. 25) who in 1533 sued Katherine's uncle, Edward Marmion, for the recovery of
the property. (fn. 26) The manor remained in the Hazlewood family until 1610 when it was sold to William
Whalley, lord of King's Norton manor. (fn. 27) Both
King's Norton and Galby descended to William
Fortrey, uncle by marriage of Bernard Whalley, on
the latter's death in 1752. (fn. 28) Fortrey's estates passed
to Henry Greene of Rolleston, who sold most of his
land in Galby to Peers Anthony Keck of Stoughton
Grange in 1791-2. (fn. 29) The Powys-Keck estates were
in 1919 bought by the Co-operative Wholesale
Society Ltd. which thus became the principal landowner in Galby. (fn. 30) By 1928, however, the society's
estate in Galby had been much reduced by the sale
of 225 a. to W. Keay and of other land to Wyggeston's Hospital, Leicester. (fn. 31)
LESSER ESTATES.
In 1086 Frisby, assessed at
2 carucates, was held by Hugh de Grentemesnil and
of him by Fulc. (fn. 32) The later history of this estate
cannot be traced, unless it is to be associated with
the 1½ carucate in Galby held in chief by Richard de
Harcourt in 1279. (fn. 33) In that year 6 carucates in
Frisby, presumably included under Galby in 1086,
were held of Robert Burdet by 10 free tenants, but
of the 6 carucates only one was certainly held in
demesne. Robert held of the honor of Winchester, (fn. 34)
and the last known record of this overlordship is in
1427 when the widow of Henry Beaumont, Lord
Beaumont, died seised of Frisby. (fn. 35)
There were several monastic estates in Galby and
Frisby. The largest was that of Trentham Priory
(Staffs.) which at an unknown date in the late 12th
or early 13th century was granted lands in Frisby
by William, chaplain of Quenby, who had received
them from William de Waure, subject to a rent of
2s. payable to Ralph of Frisby; Ralph subsequently
granted this rent to the priory. (fn. 36) In 1255 the priory
granted the estate to St. John's Hospital, Leicester, (fn. 37)
which in 1279 held 2 carucates in Frisby, one of
them in demesne. (fn. 38) In 1384 the hospital granted its
lands in Frisby to William Hotoft of Knighton, (fn. 39)
but evidently recovered them later for in 1542 the
hospital's lands in Frisby were granted to Richard
Andrews and Leonard Chamberlain. (fn. 40) In 1625 John
Heyrick died seised of a messuage and a virgate in
Frisby, still known as 'Trentham Land', which was
held in socage and valued at 10s. a year. (fn. 41)
Owston Abbey held lands in Galby from the 13th
century, probably as the gift of Robert Burdet. (fn. 42)
The house received other grants of land, (fn. 43) and at the
Dissolution their rents included at least 22s. 4d. in
Galby. (fn. 44) Part or all of the abbey's land was granted
in 1549 to John Hazlewood. (fn. 45) The Newarke College,
Leicester, held small pieces of property in Galby, of
which, in 1550, 4 messuages were granted to Francis,
Earl of Huntingdon, and Thomas Hazlewood of
Allexton, and 2 to Robert Catlyn and William
Thomas. (fn. 46) Leicester Abbey held a small estate in
Frisby granted by William de Waure in the 13th
century. (fn. 47) In 1331 Philip Danet was licensed to give
to St. Leonard's Hospital, Leicester, part of the land
which he held in Frisby of Henry Beaumont, Lord
Beaumont, (fn. 48) but it is not known whether the grant
was ever made.
In the 16th century part of Frisby was united with
Galby in the ownership of the Hazlewood family. (fn. 49)
The Hazlewoods retained property in Frisby after
the sale of Galby manor in 1610, (fn. 50) but in 1620 they
sold their Frisby estate to Sir Thomas Burton of
Stockerston, who bought another estate in Frisby in
the same year and a third 10 years later. (fn. 51) On Sir
Thomas's son's death in 1659 his estate passed to his
widow Elizabeth, who subsequently married Sir
William Halford of Welham. In 1692 Frisby was
sold to Rowland St. John, a London merchant. (fn. 52)
Thereafter the descent of the property is lost. In
1830 there were three principal landowners in
Frisby-the Duke of St. Albans, George Legh
Keck, and John Pares. (fn. 53) By 1846 most of the land
had been sold to Thomas Stokes, of New Park,
Leicester, whose executors held it in 1877. (fn. 54) By
1908 Frisby had become part of the Powys-Keck
estates, (fn. 55) and was in 1919 acquired by the Cooperative Wholesale Society Ltd. (fn. 56)
ECONOMIC HISTORY.
Galby was probably
settled by Scandinavian invaders in the 9th century,
at a date when the settlement at Frisby was already
in existence. (fn. 57) The large number of socmen at Galby
in 1086 is additional evidence of its Scandinavian
origin. (fn. 58) Galby and Frisby together were assessed
at 15¼ carucates, with land for 11 ploughs. The
estate held by Robert Burdet's son (entered in
Domesday as Galby) (fn. 59) had land for 10 ploughs;
there was a demesne with one plough, 5 serfs, and
2 bondwomen, and in addition 14 villeins, 2 bordars,
and 11 socmen had 7 ploughs, a Frenchman had one
plough, and 2 knights had 1½ plough. There was a
mill and 30 a. of meadow, the whole estate being
valued at £3. Fulc's estate (entered in Domesday
as Frisby) had land for one plough; there was a demesne with one plough and a serf, and a socman, 2
villeins, and 3 bordars had another plough. There
were 5 a. of meadow, and the whole estate had increased in value from 10s. to 20s. since the Conquest. (fn. 60)
The relatively high population of Galby in 1086
(about 30 households) was maintained until the end
of the 14th century. Although no free tenants are
recorded in the list of poll-tax payers in 1381, there
were then about 33 households in Galby: the taxpayers included 15 tenants at will, 3 neifs and their
wives, and 2 tailors and 2 carpenters. (fn. 61) There was
apparently a fall in numbers in the 15th century,
for in 1563 there were only 14 households in Galby.
In 1670 there were 23 households, of which 7 were
exempt from hearth tax. In the early 19th century
the population was roughly constant at just under
100; by 1901 it had fallen to 52, but it rose again to
90 in 1951. (fn. 62)
In Frisby 39 persons were enumerated for the poll
tax of 1381, including 14 tenants at will and their
wives and 2 free tenants and their wives; the remaining 7 persons enumerated were described as
servants. (fn. 63) As at Galby, the population of Frisby was
approximately halved between 1381 and 1563, when
there were only 8 households (fn. 64) and by which time the
chapel had apparently fallen out of use. (fn. 65) Again as at
Galby, the population of Frisby increased in the next
hundred years: by 1670 Frisby had 15 households,
of which 5 were exempt from hearth tax. At Frisby,
however, the population had fallen by 1801 to 23,
and for the next 150 years fluctuated between 12
and 27. (fn. 66)
It is not clear whether Galby and Frisby had one
set of open fields or two. Holdings in Galby field,
which contained furlongs called Wellhill and Westwell, and in Carrygate (in Galby) were mentioned
in the 13th and 14th centuries. (fn. 67) In Frisby East
Field and South Field were mentioned in 1638. (fn. 68)
Inclosure took place in the first half of the 17th
century. Nichols says that most of Galby was inclosed in 1614. (fn. 69) In 1630 John Dand died having
settled on trustees 90 a. of arable land and 12 a. of
arable, meadow, and pasture in Galby which had
been allotted to him on inclosure. (fn. 70) In 1630 also
Sir Thomas Burton, who owned most of Frisby,
had 150 a. there which had been recently inclosed. (fn. 71)
In 1631 he petitioned the Privy Council not to proceed against him, on the grounds that Frisby had
never been a populous village and that he had let
the inclosed land, as it had been let before, with the
houses. (fn. 72) In the same year William Bent of Billesdon
contrived to evade being questioned about inclosures
made by him at Frisby. (fn. 73) Parts of both Galby and
Frisby, however, remained uninclosed in 1638. (fn. 74)
Further inclosure took place in Galby in 1642 and
1649, (fn. 75) and it seems likely that the whole of Frisby
had been inclosed by the time of Sir Thomas
Burton's death in 1655. (fn. 76)
After inclosure the land was used largely for
stock-rearing. At Galby in 1846 there were 6 men
each described as farmer and grazier, and 4 in 1863.
At both dates there were only 2 farmers at Frisby. (fn. 77)
At Galby in 1928 there were 3 farmers each farming over 150 a. and one grazier, while at Frisby
there were 2 farmers, one with over 150 a., and 2
graziers. (fn. 78)
None of the lords of the manor lived in Galby.
Thomas Stokes resided occasionally at Frisby
House (later Frisby House Farm) in the mid-19th
century. (fn. 79) A family with considerable property in
Galby and a long-established connexion with the
parish was that of the Dans or Dands, the last of
whom died in 1717. (fn. 80) There had certainly been
Dands since the end of the 13th century at Frisby,
and a branch of the family at Galby a few years
later. The family was more important at Frisby
until it acquired freehold land at Galby in the 16th
century, and sold the Frisby lands in 1630. The last
Dand was armigerous. He had 5 daughters but no
son, and the family which was then over 400 years
old came to an end. Another long-established family
was that of the Birds. John Bird was a prosperous
farmer in the 16th century; in 1851 John and Alfred
Bird were agricultural labourers, and Mary Bird
a pauper. (fn. 81)
MILL.
There was a mill at Galby valued at 2s. in
1086, (fn. 82) and in the late 13th century Mauncer
Marmion held one there under Robert Burdet. (fn. 83) In
1429 Margaret Marmion let a piece of land called
Milne Holme to Roger Bache, a miller from Scraptoft, with the watercourse there for 14 years. Roger
was to build a new watermill and repair it at his own
cost. (fn. 84) The watermill seems to have disappeared by
the 16th century, when only a windmill is mentioned in documents relating to the manor. (fn. 85) The
windmill site is most probably the mound in Mill
Field to the east of the village and north of the
Galby-Frisby road.
PARISH ADMINISTRATION.
Galby and Frisby
were separate units for poor-law purposes in the
18th century, each raising its own rate and relieving
its own poor. Neither had a workhouse. In Galby
in 1802-3, 7 adults were relieved regularly and 12
occasionally, while in Frisby, out of a total population of 23, 5 adults were relieved regularly and 6
occasionally. (fn. 86) In 1836 both Galby and Frisby were
placed in Billesdon Union. (fn. 87) There are surviving
accounts of the churchwardens from 1815 to 1933
and of the overseers and constables from 1806 to
1837. (fn. 88)
CHURCHES.
Galby church was granted to the
hospital of Burton Lazars by William Burdet before
1184. (fn. 89) During the Middle Ages there was a chapel
at Frisby attached to this church. (fn. 90) In 1340 Owston
Abbey was paying 46s. 8d. yearly to the Rector of
Galby after its appropriation of King's Norton
church, which was presumably attached in some way
to Galby before that date. (fn. 91) A temporary vicarage
at Galby was created in 1236-7, apparently owing
to the absence of the then rector, Roger Blund, who
was a member of Bishop Grosseteste's familia. (fn. 92) He
instituted Hugh de Blaby as vicar. (fn. 93) In 1929 the
benefice was united with King's Norton. (fn. 94)
Burton Lazars Hospital presented to Galby rectory throughout the Middle Ages. The church was
confirmed to the hospital in 1200 and 1328. (fn. 95) The
descent of the advowson immediately after the Dissolution is obscure. In 1549 it was held by John
Talbot. (fn. 96) By 1576 it had passed to Brian Care, (fn. 97)
and in 1603 was held by the rector, Thomas Tookie. (fn. 98)
In 1640 Thomas and Henry Tookie transferred the
advowson to William Whalley, lord of the manor. (fn. 99)
From 1661 until the manor passed to William Fortrey in 1752 presentations were made by various
persons; Fortrey presented in 1748 and Henry
Greene in 1789. (fn. 1) The advowson passed with the
manor to the Keck family, and in 1957 was the
property of the Church Society Trustees. (fn. 2)
The rectory was valued at 10 marks in 1219, 12 in
1254, and 24 in 1291. (fn. 3) In 1535 it was valued at £22
gross, but deductions, including a payment of 66s.
8d. to Burton Lazars, reduced the net value to just
over £18 a year. (fn. 4) In 1603 the value was still £18 2s.
6d. (fn. 5) In 1650 the value was £80, (fn. 6) and in 1831 £300. (fn. 7)
In 1544 a grant of the property of Burton Lazars
Hospital to Sir John Dudley, Viscount Lisle, included rents from Galby rectory and lands in the
parish. (fn. 8)
The tithes were regulated by a Chancery decree of
1687 which exonerated 79 a. from the payment of
tithes for a regular money payment of £4 18s. 8d.
In 1679 it was stated that the rector had 28 a. of land
in 2 closes called Picks Closes in lieu of the tithes
from 500 a., (fn. 10) and he also had a hen from every
household in Galby and Frisby at Christmas. These
were known in 1724 as 'smoke hens'. (fn. 11) In a suit
about tithes in 1727 it was said that at the inclosure
of Galby in 1649 the rector had been given Picks
Closes in lieu of the tithes from the lands of the lord
of the manor, William Whalley, and a payment of
£15 12s. 8d. in lieu of the tithes from some of the
rest of the parish. In 1699 lands were settled upon
the rectory instead of this payment, and it was about
the rector's title to these lands that the suit of 1727
was brought. (fn. 12) The settlement was undone. In 1737
Bernard Whalley was paying tithes from the lands
for which the £15 and then the lands had been successively substituted. (fn. 13) The remaining tithes were
commuted in 1849, when it was stated that the rector
held 28 a. in lieu of certain tithes and received
£4 18s. 8d. a year for the tithes of 79 a. The tithe
award stated that 257 a. of land still owed tithes, of
which Henry Greene owned 4 a. and the Keck
family 253 a. These tithes were commuted for a payment of £121 19s. 5d. (fn. 14) The tithable part of the
parish lay to the south of the village.
Besides the land allotted in lieu of tithe, the rectors of Galby had considerable glebe in Galby and
King's Norton. This land had been attached to the
church from an early date. In 1220-1 a jury stated
that a mill and a virgate of land in Norton, ½ virgate
in Galby, and a virgate in Frisby were all held in
free alms by the Rector of Galby. (fn. 15) In 1260 the rector sued the Master of St. John's Hospital, Leicester,
for destroying a house at Frisby, which he said was
in the tenure of his church. (fn. 16) In 1679 the rectory
estate consisted of 12 a. in the Home Close, 130 a.
in King's Norton, and land in lieu of tithes in
Frisby. (fn. 17) In 1877 there were 144 a. of glebe in Frisby
and Galby and 31 a. in Norton. (fn. 18) About 1940 there
were 185 a., 112 a. of which were in Frisby. (fn. 19)
When Hugh de Blaby was instituted to the
temporary vicarage in 1287 he was to have all the
altarage of the church and of Frisby chapel, with the
tithes of the mills, a house near the church, and 4
strips in the open-field land near the house. He was
to pay 2 marks a year to the rector. (fn. 20)
The church of ST. PETER stands on the north
side of the village and consists of nave, chancel,
south porch, and west tower. It was largely rebuilt
in 1741 and its most striking feature is the tall
classical tower, surmounted by pinnacles which incorporate both Gothic and Chinese details. Throsby,
writing in 1790, commented on the rich appearance
of the tower when seen from a distance, but added
that at a near view 'it seems overcharged with
whimsical decorations'. (fn. 21)
The 12th-century church, which may have been
built by William Burdet, has completely disappeared.
The only part of the later building to survive the
alterations of 1741 is the chancel, and this appears
to date from the very end of the Gothic period. In
1517 it was stated that the south side of the church
was in ruins, (fn. 22) so that considerable rebuilding may
have taken place in the 16th century. The wide fivelight east window has a segmental-pointed head and
there are somewhat similar windows in the north
and south walls, one of the latter being walled up.
The north door was evidently altered in the 18th
century. In 1741 the lord of the manor, William
Fortrey, rebuilt the church. The chancel, which is
not now axial with the nave, remained in position,
apparently because of some disagreement between
Fortrey and the rector. (fn. 23) The architect employed for
the rebuilding was a Mr. Wing, father of the architect of King's Norton church. (fn. 24) The nave is late
Gothic in style and of a remarkable correctness for
the period. It is of three bays, divided by buttresses,
and has tall transomed windows of Perpendicular
type, apparently inspired by the existing windows
in the chancel. The plain south porch has a roundheaded entrance. The tower is of three stages, having
circular windows to the ringing chamber and roundheaded openings elsewhere. A band of guilloche
ornament below the belfry stage carries the date
1741 on the south side. The keystones of the belfry
windows are taken up to meet the main cornice,
above which is a panelled parapet. All this detail is
purely classical but the Gothic influence appears
again in the heavy angle pinnacles, whose curiouslyshaped crockets give them the effect of small
pagodas. Between the pinnacles are intermediate
obelisks. The 18th-century walls are of ironstone
and limestone ashlar with limestone dressings. The
coursed rubble masonry of the chancel appears
to have been covered with plaster at the same
period.
The church was said to be in need of repair in
1776 when it lacked a font cover, royal arms, Creed
and Commandment boards, a table of prohibited
degrees, and a list of benefactions. (fn. 25) A pulpit of 1643
survived until the end of the 18th century. (fn. 26) The
font may date from 1741 but the box pews and the
two-decker pulpit, still in existence in 1959, were
probably of the early 19th century. The church was
re-roofed shortly before 1832. (fn. 27) The chancel floor
was re-tiled in 1901 (fn. 28) and there was a partial restoration of the building in 1903. (fn. 29) In 1940 the small
organ was moved from the west end of the nave to
the north side of the chancel. (fn. 30)
A partly obliterated floor slab in the chancel
probably commemorates Martha Tookie (d. 1613). (fn. 31)
Three slabs at the west end of the nave are inscribed
to John Dand (d. 1717), to his widow, and to Robert
and Elizabeth Foster, his son-in-law and daughter.
There are mural tablets to Petronella (Brecknock),
wife of Zachary Wragge, rector (d. 1728), and to
Richard Walker, Rector of Galby and Vicar of
King's Norton (d. 1826). Glass in the east window
commemorates the Revd. T. C. Ord, Rector of
Galby and Vicar of King's Norton and Little Stretton, 1828-44. There are six bells, cast by Thomas
Eayre of Kettering in 1741-6 and presented by Fortrey. (fn. 32) The plate includes a silver flagon of 1701 given
by 'Isabel Goosey, virgin', and a silver cup of 1717. (fn. 33)
The registers date from 1738 and are complete. (fn. 34)
The chapel at Frisby is first mentioned about 1220,
when it was attached to Galby church and was served
three days in the week from Galby. (fn. 35) It is not known
when the chapel was founded. The tithes of twothirds of the lordship of William Burdet belonged to
St. Evroul Abbey (Orne) by 1220, (fn. 36) and may have
been granted by Hugh de Grentemesnil, although
they cannot be identified in any known charter. They
passed to Sheen Priory in 1414, and to the Crown at
the Dissolution. In 1553 these tithes were granted
to James Greenwood and Dunstan Clarke of Market
Harborough. (fn. 37) In 1679 the Rector of Galby stated
that he held, in lieu of his Frisby tithes, land called
Great and Little Lowsden and 2 other closes. (fn. 38)
The chapel was dedicated to ST. JAMES, and
stood on what is now a grassy mound south of Frisby
House Farm and on the east side of the lane which
runs south from the Galby-Billesdon road. This
mound was known as Chapel Mount, and some rooftimbers have been recovered from it. The chapel is
last known to have been in use in 1533, when William
Ward of Frisby made a bequest to it. The building
was still in existence in 1591, but had completely
disappeared by the beginning of the 18th century. (fn. 39)
NONCONFORMITY.
In 1813 the houses of
William Brian and William Stacy were licensed as
meeting-places for nonconformists. (fn. 40) Another house
was licensed in 1822. (fn. 41)
SCHOOL.
Galby had no day school at the beginning
of the 19th century. In 1826 a Sunday school was
opened, and in 1833 it was educating 21 boys and
11 girls. (fn. 42) The National school was built in 1875 to
serve Galby, Frisby, and Little Stretton. (fn. 43) In 1910
there was an average attendance of 10, (fn. 44) and 21 in
1933. (fn. 45) In 1943 the school was created a junior
school, senior pupils attending the school at Church
Langton. (fn. 46) The school was closed in April 1950
when there were 9 children in attendance. Children
from Galby and Frisby thereafter went to Billesdon
school, or to Church Langton Junior. (fn. 47)
CHARITIES.
None known.